Merlin Goes to Hogwarts
by LetMagicTakeControl
Summary: 1500 years after the events with Camelot, Merlin ends up getting sent to Hogwarts to stop Dumbledore's manipulations. No pairings so far. Infrequent updates. Mild language.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue

I woke up lying on a hospital bed. _What happened? Where am I? Last thing I remember I was in my house._ I grabbed my head as a bolt of remembered agony shot through me. _What was that? The Old Religion…_ my thoughts were interrupted by a woman leading an old man through the door.

"Here he is Professor Dumbledore. He was admitted earlier today, he should be waking up- Oh you're awake!" The woman who looked like a nurse exclaimed when she saw me sitting up.

"Ah, young man," I snorted at this in my head, this man while he looked old, was at least five times younger than I was. He continued on, "I wonder if you would tell me your name?"

"Uh, m-may I a-ask why?" I managed to stutter out acting like I was still half asleep since I didn't want them to know just how fast I recovered.

"Just to make sure I have the right person, I have a letter for one Mr. Merlin Emrys.

"Well, I guess you have the right person then." I said, thinking quickly why this Professor Dumbledore had a letter with my name. My actual name. It was a closely guarded secret considering that to the rest of the world I was long dead.

"Ah, then I would like to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school." The old man said.

"But, I-" I started to say 'I'm too old' but I caught myself when I glanced around at myself, I wasn't in my normal 26 year old body, it looked like I had de-aged down to around 11 or 12.

Dumbledore misunderstood my hesitance, "Are you trying to say you aren't a wizard? Have you ever had things happen that didn't make sense? Strange things ever happen that can't be explained?" He smiled kindly at me.

"No, I just wasn't expecting that." I said. "What will I need to do to get ready for the start of school."

Dumbledore made a noise of surprise, "You are taking this news better than some other muggle raised wizards I have had the privilege of explaining this to." He cleared his throat, "There is also another matter, I hate to ask, but you are an orphan correct?" He asked looking sad.

"Yes," I answered almost choking up, 1500 years had passed and I still wasn't over the death of my parents.

"Ah, I thought so. Since you do not have a guardian, I will assign a professor to take you around Diagon Alley so you can get your school supplies, you will have a limited orphan allowance so you can get your books."

"Oh, uh Professor, I have my own Gringotts account from my dad," _Not true, since it's my account from the start of the Bank, but he doesn't need to know that._

"Oh, I had not realized that, excuse me for presuming."

"That's okay, it tends to happen when I tell people I'm an orphan, they assume I never knew my parents, since they are dead." I said with a small smile.

"Well, since you are underage, I will assign a professor to go with you and to answer any last minute questions you may have." Dumbledore stood up. "Where will you be staying until then?" He asked.

"I guess at my house, if I can get out of the hospital soon enough. It's-" I started to tell him where it is, but Dumbledore interrupted me saying, "If you live there I will be able to send someone."

"Okay, professor." I managed to say before he was herded out of my room.

~ME~

A few days later, I heard one of my silent intruder spells go off. Since it was old magic, no one of this time should've been able to recognize it for what it was. They would just feel a strong magical presence. My doorbell rang and I opened the door to see a sallow skinned man dressed in a flowing black robe with what looked like greasy locks of flat, black hair and a sneer upon his face.

"I presume that you are Mr. Emrys? I am professor Snape. Professor Dumbledore sent me to escort you around Diagon Alley to receive your school supplies."

"Oh, uh. Hello, Professor," I managed to stutter out. This man was _rude_.

"Well, come on then. I do not know why Professor Dumbledore has assigned me this pleasure," his lip curled at this, "But I assure you, there are many things that I could be doing instead of catering to a muggle raised, underage wizard."

"Well I certainly didn't ask for a prat to show me around either, so I guess we'll just have to deal with it." I shot back, angered that this man thought that I knew nothing. But, I guess to him it appeared that way.

"Just because you were not raised with wizards does not mean that you can talk back to me. I am a professor and you will show me some respect or you will find yourself in detention before school even starts." Snape fired back. "Come. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I do have other things to do today."

I followed him out the front door and down to the sidewalk, an uneasy feeling starting to creep into my stomach, "Are we-"

"Quiet! We are taking the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies. I will warn you now the Knight Bus can take some getting used to so if you get nauseous be prepared."

"Professor, couldn't we just apparate there instead?" I asked, hoping that Snape would allow us to travel that way, although I didn't feel very optimistic.

"How do you know about apparation?" He questioned me. Crap I forgot that I was apparently a muggle-raised idiot. "Uh, my dad was a wizard and he mentioned it a couple of times before he died." I snorted to myself. Of course I knew about apparition, since I taught the founders the theory of it. I hoped that that would be a sufficient answer to dispel any further inquiries into my personal life.

"Your dad was a wizard? What was his name? Perhaps I knew him from school." Snape asked suddenly. Crap apparently it was Question-the-apparently-muggle-raised-kid-who-was-found-in-the- hospital time. "Um, I don't think you would know him. He was homeschooled and didn't like talking about his personal life with people." I finally said.

"Tell me his name, even if you think I wouldn't recognize it I might at least know something about his family." Snape was persistent. He had apparently forgotten about being rude to me in exchange for trying to dig into my life.

I thought for a minute, trying to remember the last name I had gone by, "Uh, fine. His name was Martin Emrys-"

"Martin Emrys?! The heir to the Emrys line?" Snape said shocked.

"Uh, I guess, He didn't really talk about his family much." I answered, of course I didn't talk about my family, they were all dead and gone. Besides I wasn't going to tell Snape that the man he was thinking of was me.

"If he is dead and you are his son, that means that you are the heir to the Emrys line. You are practically wizarding royalty." Snape said sounding amazed.

I decided to try to bring him back on topic, "So does that mean we can apparate to Diagon Alley instead of taking the Knight Bus?" I looked at him hopefully.

"Um, I guess, but I warn you that first time apparition can be worse than the Knight Bus."

"Let's just go and we can find out," I said with a cheeky grin.

I got a small smirk back, "Don't say I didn't warn you." And like that he grabbed my arm and we disappeared.

* * *

So, this is the first story that I am posting on FF. I promise nothing else fast as I barely have enough time for school and work. I am planning on continuing this just at a pace that isn't worth holding your breath over, so don't ask.

~LMTC


	2. Chapter 2- You're Really Merlin

With a crack we appeared in Diagon Alley and Professor Snape looked at me likely expecting me to feel nauseous, I smirked at him and he scowled.

"Come, Mr. Emrys. We have to get you all your supplies and I still have other things that I wish to do today that do not include escorting you around."

"Why are you escorting me if you have other things to do?" I asked him, trying to get him to stop being rude. He just glared at me and started striding down the street. I followed him as best I could, from what I could tell, Professor Snape was headed toward Gringotts so I wasn't too worried about catching up.

By the time I caught up with him outside the bank, Snape was scowling and looked almost mutinous. "I am taking time out of my schedule to escort you, Mr. Emrys. If you believe that I will wait around on you just because of your name, you are sorely mistaken."

"Sir, while you are a fully grown adult with long legs, I am an 11 year old. At least in appearance, my legs are not as long as yours and had I tried to keep pace with you I would have been running through this crowd of people."

The professor looked taken aback for a minute, and then just inclined his head. I knew that was all the apology I was going to get. "Now, since you have caught up, we can pull out some money for you from-" He looked at me, "I believe you have access to Emrys's vault, correct?"

"Yes, sir." I said. I better still have access to the vault I opened almost immediately after the bank's opening.

"Very well." Snape said and walked through the double doors into the bank. I followed right behind him, but I nodded to both of the Goblin's standing to either side. They had watched our conversation and their eyes had widened almost comically when Snape had said my name. They both bowed low before me and whispered words of welcome in Gobbledygook. As I passed them I whispered the welcoming phrase back to them, also in Gobbledygook.

Arriving at the counter, Professor Snape requested to make a withdrawal of the Emrys vault. The Goblin looked up sharply at that and stated, "The Emrys vaults can only be accessed by the member of that family. Since you are not, you are therefore labeled as a thief and can be dealt with accordingly." He smiled nastily at the ending.

"That will not be necessary, Gorbik. I am making a withdrawal from my vault. Professor Snape is here to accompany me on my shopping for Hogwarts." I had walked up and heard the last sentence as well.

Gorbik looked up, "Ah, well. Perhaps another day. Hogwarts, you say? I am surprised at that Merlin. I thought you didn't like public education." He got down off of the stool and beckoned them with a crooked finger to follow him. They followed him, Snape looked at me and asked, "What sort of protection is on your vault that anyone requesting a withdrawal who is not in your family is immediately taken as a thief? And what did he mean by the member of your family?"

I shot a look at Gorbik who just looked amused.

"Shite, Gorbik." I shook my head and Snape shot me a look at my language. "Have you lost it?" At that Snape narrowed his eyes at me.

"No, Merlin," He stressed my name. "I think that if you are going back to Hogwarts you will need someone who knows the truth on your side, and since he will most likely be your Head of House, who better to trust than him? Besides, it isn't like it's difficult for you to wipe his mind."

"Wait, what? Back to Hogwarts? But you're an 11 year old kid. How can you have gone to Hogwarts? What do you mean it isn't difficult for him to wipe my mind?" Snape questioned, looking very confused.

"Appearances can be very deceiving, Professor. You of all people should know that based on what you hide every day." I told him softly. Gorbik led us to the blank wall that is the entrance to my vault and stated, "We're here." Snape gaped at us. "This is a blank wall, emphasis on blank."

I chuckled, "Professor, I just told you that appearances can be deceiving." I laid my hand on the wall and the door to my vault appeared. I pushed it open and gestured them inside. Snape stepped forward with a look of shock. "Your vault is keyed to your touch? Isn't that dangerous? What if someone managed to break in?"

Gorbik chuckled that time and answered, "That door doesn't care one bit about his physical touch. It can only be opened by the magic of Merlin." He chuckled again.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Seems like you want me to tell him. Doesn't it Gorbik?" I raised my eyebrow at him, the same way I would do to Arthur all those years ago. Ah those were the times, always running around trying to save the royal dollophead without him ever realizing what was going on.

The Goblin noticed that my focus was shifting to the past and he snapped his fingers in front of me a couple of times. "Merlin. Focus. I think you need to explain to your professor. He looks a little overwhelmed."

I looked at Professor Snape and he did look like he was thrown off-balance, a lot of expression showing on his face for a Slytherin.

"Alright, Gorbik. It seems like you've given me no other choice." I sighed again. {Go get the blood test then, Gorbik. If you think that I should tell him.} I told the Goblin in Gobbledygook. Gorbik bowed to me and went off to prepare the test.

Professor Snape just stared at me when I spoke what was to him, gibberish. Gorbik came back with a sheaf of parchment and a ceremonial silver dagger.

"One drop of blood, Merlin. Same as always." He said with a small grin, it was practically a smirk.

"Gorbik, do you want me to explain in detail so he understands, or do you just want to tell him so you can see his reaction?" I questioned, telling the Goblin my secret was probably a bad decision all those years ago.

'Same as always', I saw Snape mouth. He looked very confused even if he was trying to hide it.

"Did you realize, Professor," I said, shifting my attention back to Snape, "that my name is not a coincidence? My name is actually Merlin, The Druids started the whole Emrys thing." I told him as I sliced a small cut in my hand and let three drops of blood hit the parchment. As soon as the third drop hit the parchment started glowing a golden color and words started forming.

 **Blood Test Results**

 **Name:** Merlin

 **DOB:** 454 C.E.

 **Mother:** Hunith

 **Father:** Balinor Caelidonsis

 **Other Names:** Emrys (By Druids), Ambrosius (By Dragons)

 **Other Forms:** Aged form (Aging Potion/spell)

 **Status:** Immortal

 **Abilities:** Dragonlord, Dragon shifter

* * *

Professor Snape was stunned, "You're telling me that you are Merlin. The original Merlin! I don't believe you! Merlin was said to be an old man. You are 11! You can't be Merlin! History can't have gotten that much wrong."

I felt my expression go cold at the professor's words. "I told you Gorbik, that he would not believe me when I told him the truth. He didn't believe me when I said not everything is as it appears evidently."

Gorbik turned to Professor Snape, "He is who he says he is. Blood cannot lie, especially the blood of one such as Merlin."

"But how?" Snape still looked incredulous, "How have you stayed alive..."

My expression must have changed because whatever the professor saw in my eyes made him trail off. "I have made many mistakes in my long life. The least of which is not telling Arthur who and what I am. For that, I was told by my friend that I would have to wait until Arthur returned, no matter how long it might take."

"So the stories about you and the muggle King are true?" Snape asked incredulously.

"Arthur wasn't a muggle, he was born of magic like me. He just never unlocked his magical ability." I said coldly.

"So history has gotten it completely wrong then?" Snape asked incredulously.

"It was 1500 years ago and I didn't want anyone bringing it up. I let slip some false information to throw people off of the real story." I said exasperatedly "If I had known then that history would forever remember me as an old man I would have seriously reconsidered."

"So if you aren't an old man, what age do you appear to be? I can't imagine that you go around looking like an 11 year old all of the time." Snape asked curiously.

"No, I typically appear 26, but yesterday I was hit with something from the Old Religion that transferred me back to my gangly, 11 year old body." I said tiredly, "I don't know the reason but my magic still seems a little unsettled and I'm not sure it's just from the transformation."

"As fun as this seems to be, Merlin, you really should be going to get your school supplies. I know you haven't updated any of your old textbooks from when you last visited Hogwarts." Gorbik said with another small grin.

"When was the last time you were at Hogwarts? I think that someone would realize that Merlin was attending." Snape questioned.

"Well they didn't know it was me because I didn't use my actual name. I think the last time I attended was as Ambrosius Emrys in the 1750's." I said thoughtfully.

"No. Ambrosius _was_ in the 1750's." Gorbik corrected, "but the most recent was the 1920's under the name Martin remember?" He looked at me slyly and added, "I think your age is catching up with you, Merlin, if you can't even remember your last few alibi's."

"Oh, right. I forgot about the first Martin. And when you get to be over 1500 years old you can complain about me not remembering things, Gorbik."

"The first Martin?!" Professor Snape repeated incredulously.

"Yea. I used the name twice in a row because people said I looked too much like my 'father' to not have been named after him. I just told everyone that it was my middle name and that was what I went by." I explained.

"But you didn't attend Hogwarts the second time you used the name?" Snape questioned.

"No. It was too soon. Someone would have started asking questions about me looking exactly like, and having the exact same mannerisms as my previous alibi."

"Ah. Well, this has been a most remarkable experience but I really do need to hurry this up. I do have potions brewing that will need tended soon." Snape said with a grimace. "I sometimes hate having to be responsible for the supply of the Hogwarts infirmary."

"Yes, we should be going. I will need to call Aithusa to let her know I won't be around for the next couple of months." I said quietly, thinking out loud.

I gathered up enough Galleons to cover the cost of a new set of books and we quickly left my vault. I never noticed the professor staring after me with a stunned look on his face, while he mouthed 'Aithusa'.

As we exited the bank out into Diagon Alley, professor Snape looked at me and stated, "So what did the goblin mean when he said that I will most likely be your Head of House?"

"Oh, er," I looked down and shrugged. "My original house is Slytherin, like on the Chocolate Frog Cards. But I have forced the hat to put me in another house occasionally just to mix it up."

"Right. Because you've been to Hogwarts before." He deadpanned. "You still never answered about why you are still al-" professor Snape choked as we had entered Madam Malkin's shop to get me some new school robes.

"Oh, Professor! I knew there was something I had forgotten to tell you!" I mumbled under my breath. Then my head snapped up, and I looked at him with my wide, bright green eyes, "Don't tell Gorbik!" I pleaded, "or else I'll never hear the end of it. Literally."

The professor looked narrowly at me, "Why should I give up the blackmail material? You should know better by now."

I gave him a look that clearly stated what I thought about him pointing that out. While Madam Malkin started measuring me for my robes. "Now, professor. No need to start blackmailing the students! You don't worry dearie, he only has a fearsome reputation in the classroom, and only then if you don't do as you're told." She patted my cheek and glanced at the professor. "Now your robes are going to come out to 11 sickles."

I handed over the money and we left the store to go buy books. I looked at professor Snape and answered, "Yes, maybe. But I also have you under a secrecy contract that everyone who I reveal myself to in my vault is under. You will not be able to speak, write, or otherwise communicate the knowledge of who I am to anyone who doesn't already know. Any attempts to do so will result in choking and then increasing levels of pain for you. Not even Legilimency can pull it out of your mind." I stated with a smirk.

I got a dark glare in answer. "Fine, but you are evading my original question."

I gave him an innocent look, "What was the original question?"

All I got was a droll look back.

* * *

So I ended up getting an idea and wrote the rest of this and chapter 3. I'll wait to post chapter 3 until I get chapter 4 underway so that I don't end up screwing up my story. Again, I warn of infrequent updates because I don't know when this muse will leave. Until it does, I will try to write as much as possible.

~LMTC


	3. Chapter 3- Return to Hogwarts

A/N: I use some of J.K Rowling's words during the sorting ceremony, so anything you recognize from the books or movies does not obviously belong to me.

* * *

 **Chapter 3- Return to Hogwarts**

I sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, waiting for the train to leave the station. I watched the families sending off their children for another year, or in some cases the first year, of school. I was thinking about the rest of my trip in Diagon Alley, Professor Snape and I had gotten my required books and potion equipment. I didn't actually need a wand, but to keep up appearances we made a stop at Ollivander's anyway.

 _We had walked through the door, and the bell jingled as it opened and closed. I looked around at all the wand boxes and gave a short laugh._

 _From behind me I heard a dry voice, "And what is so funny young man?"_

 _I turned around with a grin and slyly chuckled, "If anyone is a young man here it is the professor, isn't that right, Garrick?"_

" _And who might you be able to call a professor, 30 years your senior a 'young man'? And someone who knows my name and uses it freely."_

" _Garrick, don't tell me you're going blind in your old age! It is me, Merlin!" I feigned astonishment. "Surely you recognize me? And I laugh at this place, didn't you say you were going to clean it up after the last time I was here, 'cause it only looks like another couple tornadoes have gone through."_

" _Ah, you." He said with a mock frown. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching that scaly, white lizard to make sure she doesn't burn down anymore of my wand-wood collection?" Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at the annoyed tone of Ollivander's voice._

" _Have you not grasped the concept of not pissing people off, Merlin?" He stated mildly with a small smirk._

 _I turned to him with a frown, "have you tried to stop a dragon from roasting a tree branch because it 'smelled different'?" At his shaking head, I answered, "because even if you can speak to them, it's still bloody hard to make one do what you want."_

 _I turned back to Ollivander as he asked me, "how have you been, Merlin? It has been a while since I last saw you. What is new with you?"_

" _Well, the Old Religion has decided that I need to attend Hogwarts again. I was at home when I was suddenly hit with something that de-aged and transported me to a muggle hospital. I woke up just in time to have a visitor say they were looking for a Mr. Merlin Emrys. So the professor and I were just getting my things for a visit to Hogwarts. We had to stop in to at least appear like I was getting a wand."_

 _Mr. Ollivander looked up with barely concealed glee, "Oh? It's been awhile since the Old Religion has had something changed. Especially with you Emrys." He said with a nod to me._

" _Yes, yes. Enough with the Emrys thing already. How many times do I have to tell you that." I grimaced._

" _But Emrys, you make it so difficult when you are always around people who do not know. Since you have already informed Professor Snape, I see no reason why you should not be called such. It is your name as much as Merlin or Ambrosius."_

" _Yeah, I know. But it took me a long time to come to terms with the meaning, and since the Old Religion saw fit to use it as my last name, I don't want anyone knowing that it technically is another first name._

" _I hate to break up what is probably a very fascinating conversation on what name you are going by, but we have been in here long enough that you should have had time to go through the whole collection of wands." Professor Snape interrupted._

" _Yes, you're right. Any longer and it will be suspicious." I agreed with a nod. "We'll have to catch up some other time, Garrick."_

I smiled as I remembered my conversation with him. Leaning back against the seat as I thought about how to renew relations with him.

My musing was interrupted with the opening of the compartment door. A blond-haired boy leading a group of what looked like new first years stood in the doorway. "And who are you? Don't you know this is in the Slytherin part of the train?"

I looked at him in astonishment. "No! Really? Well that means I am in the right place then." I answered with no small amount of sarcasm.

The boy flushed a light pink and entered the compartment. "I don't think I have seen you around before, my name is Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and Goyle," he indicated the two large boys flanking him. "And these are Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Daphne Greengrass. Who are you?" He questioned after giving the introductions.

I looked over the group and motioned for them to find a seat. After they were all situated, I looked at Draco and said, "My name is Merlin Emrys. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

No sooner that the words were out of my mouth than Theodore said, "Geez, your parents must have a Merlin fascination." He said with a laugh.

Daphne shot a frosty glance at him and queried, "any relation to the Emrys family?"

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and answered, "yes. That is my family. Because of my father's unfortunate death I am being sent to Hogwarts."

"So are you the heir then?" Draco questioned, "We are all heirs to our families," he said arrogantly.

By this time, the train had started moving and I passed the time by watching the young students tell stories and laugh with each other.

~ME~

We arrived at Hogwarts and got off the train to hear shouting, "first years, first years over here!" We looked around and Blaise pointed to a tall man who was shouting the phrase with a pink umbrella leaning against his shoulder. He had a large, scraggly beard and wore a floor length jacket.

"Who is that man? He looks like he lives in the forest." Draco sneered. "I hope he isn't one of the professors."

We walked toward the man and were joined by the other first year students. "Everyon' 'ere? Good. Then let's be off." He led us down toward the lake where we could see boats lined up. "Everyon' get in a boat. No more 'in four to a boat." He waited while we all got in. "Righ'. Now, ONWARD!" he shouted and tapped the umbrella he carried against the boat he occupied alone. At the tap the boats started drifting across the water. "An' 'ere you'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts." He said as a chorus of gasps rang out.

"Wow, I had known the castle was beautiful, but hearing about it and seeing it are completely different." I heard Daphne whisper.

"All, righ'. Duck down 'ere." the large man shouted as we neared the cliff below Hogwarts. We all ducked below some vines and came to rest on a ledge with some stairs going up into the castle. The giant man led us up the steps into the entry hall of Hogwarts where we were met by a stern looking older woman.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." He stated.

"Thank you, Hagrid, for bringing the first years." She thanked him. Then turning to us, she said, "I am Professor McGonagall. Momentarily you will be brought before the school and sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and hopefully you will be a credit to your house and gain points. If you get into trouble you will lose your house points." She glanced at a couple of people, including one boy who had brilliant red hair and freckles.

"At the end of the year, the House Cup is awarded to the house with the most points. If you would follow me please." She led us through a door to the side of the hall and ordered us to wait, while the rest of the school gathered in the Great Hall.

A few minutes into the wait, I heard a short scream and when I had turned to look, the ghosts of Hogwarts had appeared through the wall.

"Honestly, haven't we given Peeves more than enough chances? To let him into the feast, unthinkable!"

"Peeves causes enough trouble without allowing him free reign during a feast. Do we-" At this point the ghosts had noticed their silent audience and quickly changed the topic.

"Ah, the first years! Hope to see you in my old house of Hufflepuff!" One old, fat looking ghost cheerfully said as they looked around. I knew exactly when they saw me because all of them got really quiet and some of them moved to come near me until I discreetly shook my head. I looked at them and mouthed, 'later' and they nodded.

By this point Professor McGonagall had returned and quickly shooed the ghosts away. She turned to us and quietly said, "follow me."

She led us into the Great Hall and down the aisle between two of the four tables. I looked at the ceiling of the Great Hall and remembered when the founders had me enchant it. I was glad to see my enchantment had held up after all of this time, though I wasn't sure if the castle didn't leech some of my magic every time I was here to sustain it.

I stood in the clump of students and surveyed the Great Hall, catching eyes with Professor Snape I smirked at him and sent him a wink. He glared at me for a few seconds until he went slightly wide-eyed and quickly looked away. I snorted softly as Professor McGonagall walked up the short stairs to the platform and stated, "when I call your name, you will come forward and I will place the sorting hat on your head."

"Abbott, Hannah." … "HUFFLEPUFF" The table on the far right cheered.

"Bones, Susan." … "HUFFLEPUFF" She scuttled off to join Hannah.

"Boot, Terry." … "RAVENCLAW" The table second from the left cheered.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

"E-" Professor McGonagall took a breath, "Emrys, Merlin" I walked up the steps and sat on the stool to have the hat dropped on my head. "Hmph, you're back again? What is the reason this time, bored again?" I heard the hat say in my head.

"This time isn't my doing, Hat. The Old Religion has something big planned and farbeit for me to screw it up." I said snidely.

"Well, are you going to go to your house or are you going to want to be somewhere else?" The hat grumped.

"No, my original house will work, I want to see Professor Snape try to hold in his glee of having me placed back in Slytherin."

"Fine, but you better not cause too much ruckus or I'll set Fawkes on you. _Again_. "SLYTHERIN" The hat shouted out and the Slytherin table clapped while the rest of the school groaned.

I sat at the Slytherin table and watched the rest of the sorting, catching Professor Snape's eye again I gave him a soft smile. It didn't take long for Draco to join me along with Theodore Nott. Not long after that, Blaise joined us and the sorting for this year was over. Finally.

Draco looked at me and said, "Well, you were right, Merlin. You did end up in Slytherin. Just like your namesake, as much as the rest of the world doesn't like to remember."

"Yes, I can imagine the rest of the school will be upset at the reminder," I smirked. "Though, frankly, I don't really care what they think."

Our conversation was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore standing up and spouting off nonsense before the food arrived and we quickly dug in.

* * *

I hope you are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it. I am starting on chapter 5 tomorrow as my muse has yet to leave.

~LMTC


	4. Chapter 4- The First Night

A/N: I have to use some of J.K. Rowling's words again, so don't go crazy if you recognize something from the books or movies. I just need to use the ideas to set up the plot.

* * *

 **Chapter 4- The First Night**

All through the feast I watched the head table because I believed that what I would have to face would come from there. I also noticed the subtle, gloating look on Professor Snape's face and the sour looks on Dumbledore's and McGonagall's. They were obviously not happy that I had gotten into Slytherin.

I idly noticed that the food around where I was sitting contained all of my favorites and looked more extravagant on the plates than the food down the table. Enough so that the others near me noticed it too. "Is it just me, or is the food right here looking better than the food around us?" Blaise asked in confusion.

Draco looked around and nodded, "The house elves must know that I would never eat anything less than perfection." He said arrogantly.

Daphne looked around and said, "no, I don't think it is because of you. Look, the food seems to be aimed at Merlin… why are the house elves giving you special treatment?" She aimed the last part of the question to me.

I looked around, "huh. It does seem like the elves are spoiling me." I said with a tone of surprise. "I must have done something to impress them." I then patted the table and addressed the plates, "thank you for the delicious food." Soon after, a mug of apple cider appeared next to my plate. I tasted the drink and it tasted the exact same as the cider that I would drink in Camelot all the time.

After all of us has had our fill and the leftover food had been vanished back to the kitchens, Dumbledore stood up once again and addressed the students.

"All students, and especially first years, should note that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason," I noticed his eyes flash to a pair of redheaded identical boys who just grinned impishly up at him. "Also note, that the use of magic in the hallways is forbidden; and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me once again to let you know he has posted the list of banned items."

I snorted at that, "That sounds like something students are going to do. Probably just to make sure that they obtain those items."

"Sadly, this year the right-hand side of the third-floor corridor is out-of-bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.

I sat up straight at that. What could you have here that would offer a painful death to anyone who goes into that area. "Well, that sounds like a place I want to visit immediately." I drawled sarcastically.

"Hmph. I bet that they are keeping something really valuable there and don't want the students getting in the way." Theo said thoughtfully.

"Well, my father will hear about this, he always said there are better ways to protect something than by making it common knowledge." Draco said imperiously.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that we don't end up there and everything will be perfectly fine." I said to them.

I tuned back into Dumbledore's speech to hear him send us all to bed. I snorted at that. "I believe that he has strayed off the sanity trail into the forest of the mad."

The other first year Slytherins just nodded. We all got up and followed the fifth year Prefects down to the dorm. I had a hard time not using the shortcuts that Salazar and I designed. Even after all of these years, they were still the ingrained route to take to get to the common room.

The Prefects stopped outside the entrance to the common room. The male Prefect started speaking, "Each House has its own way to get into their common room. Gryffindor's have an obnoxious portrait, Ravenclaw's have their riddles, and the Hufflepuff's have a trio of barrels. The Slytherin common room is behind this wall, it is marked by the carving of a snake right here." He pointed to a small engraving on the side of the wall.

I faintly smiled at that. I remember putting that there to help students find the common room, I was happy that it had survived and was still in use.

The female Prefect then turned to the wall and stated, "Aconite." The wall turned transparent and she led the way into the common room. "In a minute our Head of House, Professor Snape, will address you and make sure you understand the rules of Slytherin."

Thus, their job done, they left the first years standing in the middle of the room.

I looked around to see what all had changed in the last seventy years or so. Apparently not much, some of the couches looked new but as I scanned the walls I saw something that made my heart stop for a moment. Someone had found a picture of Salazar and he was staring directly at me in shock. I minutely shook my head and he straightened up in the frame.

"Ah, new Slytherins. I hope you can work on bringing back the noble position of my House." He stated with a small smirk. "After all, Merlin was in this noble House." He said with a smirk, I could tell that he was amused that I was here.

I rolled my eyes in silent exasperation. Then I heard a girl's grating voice say, "I don't know why everyone is so focused on what House Merlin was in. So we happen to have someone named after him. It just probably means that his parents were fanatics and thought that naming their kid after Merlin was a good idea."

I looked around and most of the older kids were frowning and Salazar had large scowl on his face. "I happen to have known Merlin, and he was part of the reason why this castle was built. Without him, we four would have gotten fed up with each other and quit in the middle of renovating this castle to make Hogwarts." He said bitingly.

"Really? I didn't know that," an older student said excitedly. "Why do the stories-" she was cut off by the entrance of Professor Snape.

"Ms. Farley, I realize that you want to find out every little detail about Merlin's life, but for the sake of the rest of us, please save it until a more appropriate time." He shot a glance at me, then continued, "and Ms. Parkinson, I realize that your limited intelligence means that you think it appropriate to disparage another student, but Merlin, either the elder or younger, is not the person to be rude to. Think of how the rest of the school would react if they heard you badmouth the one wizard they see as a god. Slytherin House is looked down on enough as it is, and we do not need a first year to sink our reputation further."

He sneered at her, "that brings us into the rules of Slytherin house. You would be wise to follow them, or you will find yourself in a lot of detentions.

Rule one: We are all Slytherins. Do not face the

rest of the school with a divided front.

Rule two: Grievances between yourselves will be solved

in the privacy of the Slytherin common room or not at all.

Rule three: All punishments will be by me, if you get detention

with another teacher, you will have an additional one with me.

With this is mind, you do not want to find yourself in multiple detentions with me. Each detention will be worse than the last." He said warningly.

With the rules given, and the older students headed off to bed, the prefects started explaining room assignments to the first years. "Merlin, I would like to talk to you in my office for a moment." Professor Snape said as he turned around and walked to a corner of the room where a door stood ajar.

I quickly followed him after getting my room assignment. I would be rooming with the other first year boys.

"Yes, Professor?" I asked as I stepped through the door.

"Close the door please, Merlin." He said.

I closed the door softly and then walked towards his desk. I took a seat in the chair set out.

"How has Hogwarts been, have there been any major changes?" He asked quietly.

"Not really, but I doubt that this is the real reason for why you wanted to speak with me." I answered with a grin.

"No, you are right. It is not what I want to talk to you about. I am assuming that you caught the looks the headmaster was sending you after your sorting. I believe that he will try to do something to place you in another House, so that the school won't have to face up to the fact that you ended up in Slytherin, whether this time or the first time. I also wanted to ask you about classes. Are you going to act like a true first year or are you going to want harder work?"

"The headmaster has no authority to try to change a sorting. So that will not be an issue. The only way to get resorted is if a student with the backing of their Head of House, agree that the House they are in no longer suits their personality. I think when the founders set up the Sorting Hat, they wanted to make resorting's happen in 4th and 6th years anyway. But the idea never amounted to anything that I know of. And I will go through classes as if this was my first year. I am over 1500 years old and some of the early theory gets lost after a while. It also won't hurt to learn any new spells that have come around."

"Okay, that is your decision." He shuffled some papers on his desk. "Here is your schedule then. I see no reason why you can't have it now."

I took the paper and scanned it over, "they do flying lessons as a class now? That's interesting, it used to be done by the quidditch captains of the House you were in."

"That must have changed right after you left then, because it has been that way since before I was in school." The professor said, "anyway, congratulations on becoming a member of Slytherin House once again he said with a small smirk.

~ME~

The next morning I woke up at my usual time of 6:30 in the morning. All of those years spent looking after Arthur gave me an inability to sleep in. I made my way to the bathroom and took a quick shower and performed my other morning tasks.

When I entered the dorm room 30 minutes later, all of the first years were still asleep, so I just grabbed my bag and went down to the common room. Some of the older students were up and they either stared at me or ignored me.

I found an armchair close to the fire and sat down to read the first-year potions textbook. I read three chapters of it by the time the rest of the first years had come down and the Prefects stood up to lead us to the Great Hall for breakfast.

I stowed my book away and followed them, even though I could walk to the Great Hall in my sleep. I paused in the doorway to survey if any of the other houses was up yet. I only saw a couple Hufflepuff's, a single Gryffindor, and a handful of Ravenclaw's who were all discussing something in a book.

I snorted, leave it to the Ravenclaw's to have a debate the first day of school. I walked toward the Slytherin table and took a seat about halfway down with the other first years. As we started in on breakfast, the rest of the school showed up in groups until the hall was full of students.

Soon after I had finished eating, the mail arrived, and the air was full of owls flying everywhere. I wasn't expecting anything since my family was all gone, so I was surprised when a barn owl landed in front of me with a letter. I stared at it for a moment then reached forward and took the letter. I opened it and read it with a look of confusion.

Dear Mr. Emrys,

I would be pleased if you could come

Visit me after you have had breakfast.

My office is located on the second floor,

left-hand corridor. Behind the

gargoyle statue.

-Albus Dumbledore

P.S. I am fond of lemon drops

I stared at the letter in shock. What did the headmaster think he was doing? Summoning first years who had no idea how to get around a sentient castle whose stairs and corridors shifted. And what was with the thing about lemon drops?

I was done eating so I got up and after sending a meaningful look at Professor Snape I left the Great Hall and headed up the stairs to the second floor. I looked at his note and walked towards the left corridor, about halfway down I saw an ugly statue of a gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office.

I walked up to the gargoyle and stated, "I have apparently been summoned to see the headmaster," the gargoyle looked at me and stated with a gravelly voice, "and do you have a password?"

I looked at it and said, "I have never needed a password to get into a room in this castle. Move out of my way or I will move you to a place where you will no longer be an issue." I stated coldly.

"There is only one person alive who does not need a password and you are not him." The gargoyle stated grimly.

"I think if you look a little closer, you will find that I am him." I stated in a dark tone. "If you persist in blocking my way I will turn you into a pile of rubble."

The gargoyle looked at me with a squint, then it reared back. "Merlin! I am sorry, I did not recognize you there. I wasn't expecting you to be here now. What is going on?" The gargoyle said in surprise.

"Apparently, the headmaster is trying to interfere in House placements." I said with a frown. "Professor Snape warned me last night that he would try to get me resorted, and this morning I got a letter from him saying to come visit him."

"Oh, okay." The gargoyle moved out of the way revealing a spiral, stone staircase. I climbed up and came to a wooden door. I knocked, and opened the door when I heard a muffled, "enter".

"Ah, Merlin. I wasn't expecting you so soon! How was your first night at Hogwarts? Did you get a chance to eat some breakfast?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yes, Headmaster. I was able to eat breakfast since I am a naturally early riser. My first night was fine, the castle is an amazing place." I said will fake awe.

"Good, good. Now you are probably wondering why I asked you to come see me. You see the thing is I think that the sorting hat sorted you more on what your name was and not on your abilities. I don't know if you know, but the original Merlin was sorted into Slytherin House, and I believe that when the sorting hat heard your name announced, it got confused and thought you were the original Merlin." He said with his eyes twinkling. "So, it will just be a small matter of having you try the hat on again." He smiled kindly at the end of his speech, and I looked at him incredulously.

"You mean to tell me that-"

I got cut off before I could tell him he was an idiot by the door opening and Professor Snape walking into the room. "I believe, Headmaster, that I requested to be present during all meetings between you and the students of my House." He said venomously.

* * *

So here is the fourth chapter. Sorry it is a little late, real life decided that I wasn't paying enough attention to it. The next chapter will probably be out after Christmas as I have family coming and they are not known to let me just hole up in my room and be alone to write. So to those who celebrate: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Merry Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.

~LMTC


	5. Chapter 5- The Hat's Final Say

So here is the next chapter. I am hoping to have the next chapter finished soonish. I don't know exactly when as I will start up school again next week. But anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 5- The Hat's Final Say**

Dumbledore just stared in shock at Professor Snape, "Well, yes, Severus. But as I was telling Mr. Emrys here, I think he was mis-sorted, so I am asking that he try the sorting hat on again. It may turn out that Merlin here belongs in another house in which case you are not his Head of House and not required to be at this meeting." He said with an irritating twinkle and a genial smile.

"Indeed. But until the Sorting Hat has declared him in another House, he is at this moment a member of Slytherin House, and therefore I wish to be present." Professor Snape countered with a sneer that wiped the twinkle out of Dumbledore's eye.

"Alright, I know you just want to do the best by your Slytherins, Severus. You can stay until Mr. Emrys is sorted into another House." He said deprecatingly.

"Good. _If_ Mr. Emrys is sorted into another House, I have no need to be here." The professor took a seat next to me and sent a quick glance at me. I slightly raised my eyebrow in response.

"Now," he said turning back to Dumbledore, "what is this nonsense about wanting to sort Mr. Emrys into another House? He was just sorted last night."

"As I was telling Merlin, here. I believe that the hat made a mistake and got confused when it heard Merlin's name."

"Ah," Professor Snape said, "and out of all of the first years sorted last night, only Mr. Emrys is affected by a mis-sorting. Is that how you see it, Headmaster?"

"I believe that the hat thought it was sorting the original Merlin and did not judge Mr. Emrys according to his own merits, but by the name he shares with our icon." The annoying twinkle was back in his eye, and he was smiling as if nothing was wrong with what he was suggesting.

Professor Snape stared at him, "Surely, the hat should know that the original Merlin is long since dead?" He turned to me, "Mr. Emrys. Do you feel as if you have been mis-sorted? After all, you are the one who is going to be affected by whatever happens here. I believe that you should have a say in your placement."

I looked at the Headmaster, "Sir. I am happy in Slytherin House. I have already started to make friends with my Housemates, and I don't want to leave them. Also, If I do change Houses, won't the other Houses get offended since I made it into Slytherin first?"

"It has only been a day, Merlin my boy! I am sure that you could make new friends in a better House, say: Gryffindor?"

"Excuse me, Headmaster. Are you implying that being a Slytherin is worse than being a hot-headed, idiot Gryffindor?" Professor Snape interrupted incredulously. "And if Mr. Emrys wants resorted, it will be up to the Sorting Hat to place him, not you."

"Severus my boy, it was just a slip of the tongue. I was in Gryffindor after all, so it is not surprising that I would want to promote my old House." The Headmaster shot a dark look at the potions professor.

Dumbledore looked back at me, "So, Merlin, my boy!" he reached for the Sorting Hat, "I just need you to try on the hat again!" His eyes twinkled at me.

I stared at Dumbledore, "but, I do not wish to be resorted, Sir." _Was he really going to try to force me to try on the hat again?!_

"Just put it on your head and we can clear this up. If you are a Slytherin the hat will sort you there again, but if, as I think, you are not, you will be placed in your correct House." He reached forward as if to forcibly place the hat on my head but I leaned backward.

"I do not wish to have a resorting. You can not just request that I put the hat on anyway. You need my Head of House's permission and mine to have me resorted, and as I am happy where I am, I do not wish to try on the hat." I said bitingly.

Dumbledore sighed, "very well." He lowered the hat to his desk.

I shot a look at Professor Snape, _That can't be all he is going to do. All of that effort to get me up here, he isn't going to give up that easily._

I turned back to Dumbledore as I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Dumbledore had flicked his wand and caused the sorting hat to disappear. I looked around to find the hat when my vision was obscured by it falling over my head. I snarled and ripped the hat off of my head.

"I told you I did not wish to be resorted! What makes you think that it would be okay to place the hat on my head anyway!? Do you want to start a feud with the House of Emrys?" I shouted at him angrily.

"Now, Merlin. There is no need for the threats. I just ask that you put the hat on. This continuing to protest seems like you know you do not belong in Slytherin House and are just trying to deflect a resorting that would put you elsewhere. Is there someone in Slytherin who has threatened you? Do not be afraid to tell us that. We will take care of any students." Dumbledore said.

"Excuse me, Headmaster. I would appreciate it if you did not start pointing fingers at my students without due cause." Professor Snape warned.

I glanced at him and saw in his eyes that the Headmaster would not give this up without me trying on the hat again. "Okay, Headmaster. I will try on the Sorting Hat again. I do not expect to be resorted but to clear up this matter, it is the best option." I gave in.

"Good!" He looked at Professor Snape, "do you agree to this, Professor? Merlin was right in saying that a student must have the agreement of their Head of House." At the professor's nod, he continued. "Then this shouldn't take longer than a minute!" Dumbledore was back to twinkling and with a swift movement he picked up the Sorting Hat.

"Now, Merlin Emrys agrees to be resorted." He stated, and put the Sorting Hat on his head.

"Eh? What is going on Merlin?" I heard in my head.

"The Headmaster is trying to get me sorted into another House. Apparently he does not like the reminder of what House I was in originally." I thought back.

"Ah, so he tried to get you resorted into a House that wouldn't remind the world of your original sorting. That must by why he shot a spell at me earlier. I feel the need to place you in Gryffindor."

"Oh?" I mentally scanned the hat for foreign magic and found a strong compulsion spell to place me in Gryffindor. "That would be a compulsion spell, he is trying to place me in Gryffindor." With a thought I dispelled the magic. "I got rid of it, so if you just declare me Slytherin we can go about our days." I was annoyed that the Headmaster was trying to manipulate me into a House I didn't belong in. Let alone _want_ to be in.

"Okay, Merlin. I hope that this is not a recurring theme. I do not wish to have to sort students that do not need it more than once. SLYTHERIN!" I heard the hat shout out.

I took the hat off my head and looked at the Headmaster. He looked like someone had hit him with a petrifying curse. I glanced at Professor Snape and the light in his eyes looked like he was almost relieved.

"Can I go, Headmaster? I don't want to be late to my first class." I said finally. Professor Dumbledore shook his head slightly and then looked at us with a calm gaze. "Yes, Merlin. Here is a schedule, I see you will have classes with the Gryffindors so I will call up a couple of them to lead you to your Transfiguration class." The Headmaster said with a small laugh and I saw that his eyes were twinkling brightly.

"That will not be necessary, Headmaster. I will have to go past Minerva's classroom to get to my own. I can lead him there." Professor Snape inserted.

The Headmaster looked at him like the professor had asked him to turn Merlin over to Voldemort. "Yes, but I assumed that since this issue has been cleared up you would want to get to your classroom as soon as possible. Which didn't include leading a new student to his class." Dumbledore said. "I know you like to keep a certain image for the students." He looked almost pleased that he could reveal this information. I understood that the headmaster was trying to get me to say that I didn't want the professor to lead me to my class. The only problem was that I admired the Professor for being able to control the way the students saw him. So the headmaster's plan didn't work.

"If you would lead me to my class, Professor Snape that would be great, especially if you have to pass that way yourself." I said brightly. "But can we go now? I don't really want to be late and I think that there's only a minute more before classes start." I looked at him with wide, expectant eyes.

"Yes. You are right Mr. Emrys. The first class is about to start so let us go." We got up and departed the Headmaster's office.

"What do you think he will try next to get me in another House?" I asked the professor as we walked down the hall.

"I do not know Merlin. I was almost expecting that he would want you resorted at dinner, but this way, no one has to know about his failed plan." He stopped and looked at me. "When he put the hat on your head you got a very annoyed look on your face. Care to share what the Headmaster's idea about manipulating you was?"

"The Headmaster, in his infinite wisdom, thought that a compulsion spell would work to make the hat place me in Gryffindor." I looked at the professor and he had a look of horror in his eyes. "Yes. If I had been placed in Gryffindor, he would have placed me in a House I do not, nor ever _want_ to be in."

"How did the compulsion not affect the hat? Did you do something or is that just part of the Hat?"

"I don't know exactly. I think that the Founders put spells on the Sorting Hat so that it couldn't be manipulated, but I did dispel his magic anyway." I told him.

Soon enough we reached the corridor where my class was being held.

"You may want to be careful for a while, Merlin. You may not realize it but you led us here. There could be trouble if someone realizes that you know your way around already." The professor warned me.

"Oh, yes. That is always the hardest part of coming back to Hogwarts. I always try to walk around with the other first years for a couple of weeks but since I was called to visit the headmaster, that didn't happen. Thank you for the reminder, or else I would have totally forgotten." I looked at him sheepishly.

~ME~

Back in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore was interrogating the Sorting Hat.

"Why did you not place the boy in Gryffindor?!" He yelled. "We can not allow someone who is named after Merlin to stay in Slytherin House. He must be moved to a House where there are no Dark wizards! How do you think it looks to have a reminder that Merlin was a Slytherin?!" He was breathing heavily.

"My job, since my creation by the Founders, has always been to sort the students into the House that they are best suited for. It so happens that Merlin Emrys is best suited for Slytherin. And don't tell me that only Slytherin House has Dark wizards and witches. Do you remember the little rat that went into Gryffindor House?"

Dumbledore looked away from the Hat. "One bad student almost ruined the reputation of the noblest House in Hogwarts. If it weren't for his three friends, he would have brought a black stain on our great history." The Headmaster looked at the Hat. "It is in your power to declare a student in another House if you were put on their head. I order you as Headmaster to sort Merlin Emrys into Gryffindor House." Dumbledore commanded.

"Ah. Yes, that is true, I do have the power to sort a student without being placed on their head." The hat shook it's brim in laughter. "But only if that student has not tried to be resorted. You have permanently made it so that Merlin is in Slytherin for the next seven years." The hat cackled.

"I- I-... I don't care! I order you to sort him in Gryffindor House! I am Headmaster of Hogwarts! You must obey me!" Dumbledore shouted furiously. "I defeated Grindelwald! I created Voldemort so that I could defeat him after the death of the Savior! I would lead the wizarding world in a war against the filthy Muggles so that they would know their place! I want Merlin Emrys in my old House of Gryffindor! NOW!"

The Sorting Hat sat there in shock. The Headmaster was planning the death of a student and a war with the Muggles. "Listen to me, and listen well, Albus Dumbledore. If you continue to plan the death of a student you will not like what happens. You will anger the wrong person and I pity what would remain of you if you challenged him." The hat stated coldly.

"Now, I have listened to your request to resort a student. Watched you bully him into agreeing to be resorted and listened to your plans of murder and domination. I have the final say over any and all sortings in Hogwarts! Do not test me on this!"


	6. Chapter 6- Merlin Meets the Chosen One

**Chapter 6- Merlin Meets the Chosen One**

I entered his transfiguration class and quickly joined the other first year Slytherins on 'our' side of the room. I slid into a seat next to Draco just as the bell rang and mouthed, "later," in response to his questioning look.

They turned to look at the back of the classroom as a couple of late Gryffindor's ran through the door. They looked around and the red-headed one smirked at the blond one.

"I guess we beat old McGonagall, eh Neville?" He laughed as he walked towards a pair of seats.

"Yeah, I guess so." Laughed the one revealed as Neville. The pair were almost to their seats when the cat sitting on the edge of the desk made a growling noise and leaped off the desk. Halfway to the floor it transformed into Professor McGonagall.

"I expect more from my Gryffindor's, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Weasley. If you can not show up on time, then do not come barging in and disrupt my class." The Slytherin's could tell the Professor was not happy.

"We got lost, Professor." The violently red-headed boy protested.

"Then might I suggest that you acquire a map. Now sit down so that we might be able to start our lesson today."

"Yes, Professor," the two mumbled as they sunk into their seats. The class focused their attention back on the professor as she started a lecture on turning a match into a needle.

I took some basic notes while staring around the classroom at his yearmates. As I watched the students around the room, the two late Gryffindor's fooled around quietly while not taking down one word of notes. I rolled his eyes and thought, _That will change soon enough. The professor's won't allow it to continue. Especially when we have our first Potions class._

When it came time to try to turn a match into a needle I purposely waited to see if any other student would be able to do it before trying. As I watched, Draco managed to make the match turn silver and pointy on his second try and on the third completely changed the match into a needle.

I then turned back to my match and tried. I purposely messed up the incantation as to not get it perfect. It caused the ends of the match to go pointy but still stay a match.

"Nice first try, Mr. Emrys," Professor McGonagall had walked around to their desk and was watching the students. "Try it again, you were very close. You just mispronounced the incantation." She waved her wand and the match reverted back to a complete match.

I sighed and did the spell again making sure that my movements looked like I wasn't sure what I was doing.

Soon enough the bell tolled throughout the castle and my first Transfiguration class was over. We gathered up our stuff and headed off to charms with Professor Flitwick. Draco turned to me as we were leaving and asked, "you purposely waited until I had gotten the spell right before trying it yourself. Why?"

"Draco, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to make sure you had a chance to practice the spell before I tried. I didn't want to end up distracting you." I stated calmly.

"What, so you don't think that we can both try the spell at the same time and not end up distracted?" He smirked. "I think that you just didn't want to be shown up by me."

"Draco, do you honestly have that bad a memory? If you remember it took Merlin two tries to your three to make the spell work, and the only reason that Merlin didn't have it on the first time was that he mispronounced the spell." Daphne pointed out dryly.

Draco's cheeks flushed a pale red and he muttered, "whatever, Daphne."

We reached the door to the charms classroom and entered to find our seats. Halfway across the room we ran into the two Gryffindor's that came in late to Transfiguration. We halted and Draco sneered, "Weasley, Longbottom. I see that you managed to get into Hogwarts, Merlin only knows how." He turned to me and raised an eyebrow, "actually, _do you_ even know, Merlin?"

I felt my lips twitch and I shook my head in mock ignorance. "No, Draco. I can say that I do not know the reason why they made it into Hogwarts." My comment caused the Slytherin first years to lose it and it was only when Professor Flitwick told us to take our seats that they managed to pull themselves together.

I took a seat next to Blaise and we listened as the professor started talking excitedly about the levitation charm. Soon enough the class ended with the professor's exuberant reminders to not mispronounce the _Leviosa_ in the incantation.

~ME~

The first week continued on and I stuck to my plan of following the other first years around so as not to appear like I had been to the castle before. It was easy to stay together especially with Professor Snape's rule about not being out alone. All of the Slytherin first year students stuck together which led to some problems as Draco wanted to set himself up as leader of our year but the other Slytherin's didn't want to follow him.

Soon enough the week came to a close and it was time for our first Potions lesson. We headed down to the dungeon's to wait outside for Professor Snape to open the door. As we waited the Gryffindor's slowly filtered down and stood huddled all together on the other side of the doorway from us.

The door opened with a bang and we filtered in; Slytherin's towards the front and Gryffindor's towards the back. As everyone got situated I was looking around the room to see how it had changed since the last time I was here. The answer was not much.

It appeared to be a little dirtier and the professor had suspended some interesting potion ingredients in jars along the walls. Some of them looked quite rare, but because of the mess, I wouldn't want to try to use them. They would only end up contaminating whatever potion they went into, I would know, as I had obtained several Potions Masteries over the course of my different lives.

The door slammed shut as Professor Snape entered the room and stalked up to the front table. His robes billowed out behind him as he whipped around and stared at all of us.

"You are here to learn the subtle art of potion making. I do not expect any of you to enjoy this class, and it is not my job to try to force you into liking it." He stalked around the table and grabbed a sheaf of parchment. As he started to take roll he would glance up at each student to look at their face before continuing.

"There will be little use for wands in my classroom as I do not tolerate any sort of foolish wand waving." He glared at the Gryffindor's as he said this.

"Mr. Weasley. What would I get if I added fern to crushed acorn?" Weasley looked at him with a dumb expression. "Don't know? Tut, tut." He turned to Neville, "Mr. Longbottom, our new resident celebrity. Where would you find me a pigeon Hawk feather?" The boy looked at him, "I don't know Professor, maybe on a bird?" He said with a smirk.

"Wrong, Mr. Longbottom. 5 points for your cheek. We will try again. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"That's a trick question, Professor." Interrupted a bushy-haired girl who was flapping her arm around in the air. "They are the same plant, which also goes by the name Aconite. It is named differently on when it is picked and it is commonly referred to as the queen of all poisons. It-" She would have gone on except she was interrupted by the irate professor.

"I believe I asked Mr. Longbottom, Mrs. Granger. And you do not need to give us a memorized definition, as I doubt this batch of dunderheads would understand. Furthermore, due to your apparent need to blurt out information like a textbook that has had a speaking charm placed on it, you have lost your house an additional 10 points." I could tell the Professor was happy with already having taken 15 points off of Gryffindor and the lesson had barely started.

"As Mrs. Granger quoted, Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant, and it does have a list of other names and monikers it goes by. A pigeon hawk feather is a common enough feather found off of a Merlin. Also, fern and crushed acorn both go into a powerful magical boosting potion used for rituals." He turned to the rest of the class, "Well, why aren't you all writing this down?"

Then he turned back to the board and tapped it with his wand. A small, spidery writing started writing out the recipe for the Boil Cure potion. "You will attempt to make a simple Cure for Boils today. The recipe is here, ingredients are in the storage cover over there." He gestured to the door in the front right corner of the room. Conveniently, it was the side the Slytherin's sat on.

The Gryffindor's glanced around nervously and a few darted towards the door to get their supplies. I snorted in my head, _I doubt they even know what ingredients to grab._

I ended up being right as about halfway through the lesson the cauldron that the two Gryffindor idiots were using blew up. It splashed all over their desk and landed on most of the Gryffindors around them.

"Alright, calm down. Anyone who was affected come to the front to get a dose of the correctly made antidote." Half of the Gryffindors headed to the front of the room. "As you can clearly see, this is why potions is a delicate art. One wrong ingredient or stir can have the brew blowing up. Luckily for you, the boil-cure potion is made from the potion for boils. So any mistakes can be fixed."

After all of the students had been taken care of, the Professor turned to the two who caused the accident. "Weasley, Longbottom. I can clearly see you will not do well in this class until you learn to follow directions. 10 points each and detention with me, tonight at 7:00 sharp. If you are late you will not like the consequences, and further points will be taken.

~M~

I headed down to the Slytherin common room with the rest of the first years. Once we were in the common room, we all burst out laughing. "That's the savior of the Wizarding World!" Draco laughed with glee. "I don't think he could have been any more pathetic."

We quickly dropped off our bags and headed down to the Quidditch pitch for our first flying lesson. We arrived on the pitch to see the first year Gryffindor's huddled around as well. I groaned when I saw the ancient looking brooms laid out on the ground. I doubted they could handle my magic running through them.

"Alright, everyone get beside a broom. Come on they won't bite." A woman with yellowish eyes said. Her gray hair was cropped short so it didn't fly everywhere. "I am Madam Hooch and I will teach you to fly. If you don't listen to me you will find yourself hurt faster than you can say Quidditch and I will not allow you on another broom." Her eyes swept over the students as we got lined up next to a broom.

"Now, I want you to call a broom to you. Hold your hand out, palm down and say 'up'." I looked around as the students all tried to coax the broom next to them into their hand. Weasley's jumped up and smacked him in the forehead, while Longbottom's didn't even twitch. The Granger girl's just rolled away from her.

Draco managed to call his up immediately and he turned to me and said, "Go on, Merlin. Give it a try."

I looked at him and said, "I am actually perfectly happy staying on the ground. I don't want to get knocked in the head like Weasley, and I don't trust the way these brooms look."

Unfortunately for me, Madam Hooch heard me and she came over and told me to call my broom. I looked down at it dubiously and tentatively said, "up." I heard Madam Hooch snort and Draco gasp when the broom immediately jumped into my hand. At the first contact, the broom gave a huge shudder and started trembling when my magic went through it. I looked at Madam Hooch, "is there a way for me to opt out of flying?" I asked her desperately. I did not want to get on that broom.

"Nonsense, Mr. Emrys. These brooms have been used for a long time and they are perfectly safe." She said over my grumbled, "that's what worries me."

I mounted the broom carefully and Madam Hooch turned back to the class, "alright, now. Raise the handle of the broom up a little and start hovering above the ground. Wait for further instructions once you are in the air."

I swallowed and prayed that the broom wouldn't do anything crazy as I guided it into a low hover.

I looked up at a pair of laughs to see Weasley and Longbottom pointing at me and laughing. "Look, Nev. Emrys is so scared he's making the whole broom tremble." I looked down at my arms on the broom and it was shaking me so hard I was barely hanging on.

Suddenly the broom gave a lurch as the spells on it overloaded and I cursed under my breath as I dropped to the ground and threw the broom away from the students right before it blew up. I threw up a shield around me as splinters rained down around me. I felt the small impact of a piece of the handle digging into my stomach.

I looked down at my stomach as blood started to seep around the handle sticking out of me. I turned around to see the class staring at me in horror until I felt my knees go out from under me as I slumped to the ground.

Madam Hooch ran to me and picked me up careful of the wound in my gut. "All of you will land now. Class is dismissed." She shouted over her shoulder as she started for the hospital wing.

I faintly heard Draco shout that he was going to get Professor Snape as I lost consciousness.

* * *

So, Yeah. Here's the next chapter. Sorry that it has been almost a month. School started back up and then I found out some bad news that put me off of writing for a couple of days. I hope you all enjoy and I do have some ideas for the next chapter, I just need to actually write it...  
Anyway, Enjoy

~LMTC


	7. Old Friends and Uncovered Secrets

A/N: To the person who asked, yes there will be no Harry Potter character. You will have to read to find out why. I did not like this chapter and had a lot of trouble writing it, so characters may seem OOC.

* * *

 **Chapter 7- Old Friends and Uncovered Secrets**

I drifted back into consciousness to the sound of people speaking quietly.

"-cannot have it known that a student was injured on a school broom, especially the first time he touched one." That was Dumbledore, he sounded like he was nearing the end of his patience.

"Yes, but Albus. If we don't tell anyone, we won't get new brooms and if Merlin tells anyone and it gets out to the Board of Governors, they would go crazy. I don't want to have to deal with the Board, you know all of them are in Lucius' pocket." McGonagall was speaking softly to him.

"I have made up my mind, Minerva. I will keep Mr. Emrys from talking about it and the wards on the school will monitor any letters going out about it." He said with finality.

"Ok, Albus. You just better hope that this works out."

By this time I had woken up fully and I was listening with a deep burning fury building over what they were saying. I stayed still as they finished up their whispered conversation and I heard them walk off. I sat up and frowned as I thought about what I had just heard. _Was this the reason I was sent here?_ I wondered silently.

I looked around the infirmary and noticed I was the only student in the brightly lit room. I whipped my head around when I heard a door open in the back of the infirmary. It was Madam Pomfrey and when she saw me sitting up she hurried over.

"Ah, Mr. Emrys. I see you are awake. You took a nasty shard of wood to your stomach but you will be fine in a couple of hours. You have only been unconscious for a little over half an hour. I removed the broom handle and mended your stomach but it will be sore for a day or two." She said as she bustled around checking various things around me.

I didn't say anything because I knew my magic would heal me of the wound and any lasting effects within the hour. I looked at her as she came to a stop at the foot of my bed. "Am I allowed to leave?" I asked politely.

She grumbled, "I suppose so, since there is no real reason for you to stay. Just take it easy and remember if you feel any pain to come straight here." She gave me a sharp look with that last statement.

"I will." I neglected to tell her that there would be no lasting pain for me to deal with.

"Well then you can go back to your common room. And remember to take it easy." She said as she handed me my clothes and pulled the curtain around my bed.

I quickly got dressed and headed down to the Slytherin Common room. Upon entering, what appeared to be the whole house turned to look at me.

"Er, hi?" I said with a small upturn of my lips.

At that it seemed like the House exploded. Everyone gathered around to hear what had happened and how I was doing. I noticed Draco and the other first years pushing through a crowd of fifth years trying to reach me.

"Merlin! Are you okay? I was freaked out when you dropped with that broom handle sticking out of you like that." Draco said once he had made his way to my side.

"I'm fine," I said to him and then to the rest of the House, "Madam Pomfrey patched me up and sent me back here to rest."

At my words, the whole House breathed a sigh of relief and started talking among themselves. Slowly the upper years started walking off to talk with their own groups and the remaining first years crowded closer.

"So, you will really be fine?" Pansy asked sceptically.

"Pansy, leave him alone. He's been through enough without you hounding on him on top of it." Daphne said acidly.

Pansy turned back to me, "it seems you have a fan, Merlin," she said snottily. Turning back to Daphne she whispered, "I hope you remember who you are, Daphne. Your parents probably already have a match for you. You wouldn't want to upset them."

"Unlike you, Pansy. My parents aren't trying to push their way higher in society. I have no need to worry about a match right now." Daphne shot back.

During this, I had started heading towards the stairs to get some rest. Making my way up to the first year dorm I had to pause every couple of steps. Madam Pomfrey may have worked her magic to heal my stomach, but as a creature of the Old Religion the newer magic didn't work quite as well. I would need to be alone to use my magic to heal my side completely.

I walked into the dorm and made my way over to my bed to sit on the edge. I was about ready to speak the spell when Draco walked into the room.

"So you really will be fine?" He asked again.

"Yes, Draco. I'll be fine after I can get some sleep." I answered tiredly.

"Oh. Then I'll let you get some sleep," he made his way to the door before pausing and turning back, "and I'll keep everyone from disturbing you." He said finally.

"Thanks, Draco." I said as he left the room. I turned back to look at my side and spoke the healing spell. " _gwella'r clwyf saeth._ " I felt my eyes turn gold and my side start stitching together. It had been a long time since my healing spells had failed to work.

When I felt the magic finish, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. Soon enough I was asleep.

~ME~

The rest of week and part of the next were the same routine as before the flying lesson, though everyone still seemed a little skittish around me, as if they thought I would drop to the floor again. I shuddered at the memory of talking to Professor Snape after the accident. Suffice it to say, I was no longer required to take a flying class. And the Board of Governors was looking into why the broom had failed. I didn't expect them to find anything.

I shuddered again remembering the meeting I had with the ghosts of the castle.  
 **  
Flashback**

 _I was walking by myself to dinner after a defense lesson when I met the Grey Lady in the corridor. We stared at each other until she broke the silence and said, "Merlin Emrys. I am surprised to see you here again. I thought you wouldn't return for another century at least."_

 _"Normally I would, Helena." I said dropping the mask of a first year. "But this visit was unplanned by me. The Old Religion decided I needed to be here."_

 _"Well it certainly surprised us when we saw you standing among the first years." She said with a small laugh._

 _I laughed as well, "I noticed. I was afraid you would give me away with you all gaping like fish at me."_

 _"Well, that's rude. We were surprised to see you and this is how you respond?" She retorted playfully._

 _I shook my head. "No, please forgive me, Lady. That was in poor taste. How may I make it up to you?" I asked with a small smile._

 _She locked eyes with me. Searching for something only she could see. "You may make it up to me by being the one to explain it to the others about why you are here." She said with a devious grin._

 _"Ah, no, Lady Helena. Please, not that! They will yell at me for sure." I begged her._

 _"Merlin, quit your moaning. It is a suitable recompense for comparing us to fish." She laughed quietly. "I will call a meeting among the ghosts so you can explain it to them. Meet me in front of the room of requirement an hour after midnight tonight." She stared at me, then turned and floated through the wall. I let out a groan and cursed when I realized that I was now late for supper. Draco was probably going to give me a lecture on showing up on time._

 _At ten minutes to 1:00, I slid out of my bed, I had laid awake while the other boys all settled down and fell into a deep slumber aided by a covert sleeping spell. There would be no chance of waking them right now as I made my way out of the dormitory and into the Common Room. My lips quirked into a small smile as I apparated silently to the corridor in front of the Room of Requirement, or as I originally named it: The Come and Go Room._

 _I only had to wait a few moments before Helena appeared through the door and beckoned me inside. I entered with hesitation but quickly walked through the door at Helena's glare. She probably could have made Morgana back down and think twice about crossing her._

 _Inside the room the resident ghosts of the castle floated around a comfy seat next to a lit fireplace. I quickly took a seat and soon had all of their attention on me._

 _I glanced around at them then uttered quietly, "um, hi?" I hid a wince at the glares that got. "So, obviously I am back at Hogwarts. This past Summer the Old Religion knocked me out and put me back in my 11 year old self." I frowned and continued, "I don't know why but I think it has something to do with the current Headmaster's ideas on using everyone around him like expendable pawns in some big game of chess."_

 _The ghost's all nodded with understanding looks, "Yes." The Fat Friar said, "We have noticed him starting to lose that caring nature and turn more manipulative and cunning." The ghost's sighed and Peeve's spoke up, "Even my warning pranks are starting to have to pick up intensity. The student's all joke about it, but no one remembers that you and the Founder's placed me here for a specific reason. And with that squib Filch running around trying to have me exorcised all the time, no one bothers to research why it is impossible to do so and what it means when I do." He looked dejected and the other ghosts all hastened to comfort him._

 _Contrary to what the school believed, Peeve's was bound to the castle for the sole purpose of finding traitors. Whenever he started mistreating someone it was usually to uncover whatever they were trying to hide. Back when the school was founded, the muggles would do anything to wipe out a single witch or wizard. Including forcing a member of the school to betray their peers or colleagues._

 _Sir Nick spoke up next, "It doesn't help that he lets his pet savior run amok around the castle with nary a word of censure. He has rescinded any point-loss or punishment that he has gotten along with that red-headed sidekick of his." The ghost's all looked outraged and Helena spoke, "His blatant misuse of the Headmaster's ability to rescind punishments can be dealt with at a later time, what we need to focus on is his lack of care for the students."_

 _I blinked in confusion and asked, "wait, what about a savior?"_

 _It was the Bloody Baron that answered me after a short staring match that the ghosts had, "Neville Longbottom is said to be the savior of the Wizarding World for his defeat of Lord Voldemort as a baby."_

 _I stared at the ghost's in shock. "That's ludicrous. How would a baby be able to do that? I am the one who banished Lord Voldemort after his attack on the Potter's. The Old Religion won't allow someone to attack a defenseless child over something as trivial as a vague prophecy. I cast a spell the day after it happened to banish his spirit from this world. I didn't think anything else of it."_

 _It was the ghost's turn to stare in shock at me, "You mean, Neville isn't the one who defeated him?" The Fat Friar said faintly. "Dumbledore has been spouting a lie all these years?!"_

 _"If he's been telling everyone that Neville defeated the Dark Lord, then yes it is a lie." I said solemnly._

It had shocked and astounded the ghosts to find out that the Headmaster had lied for so long, but the rest of our meeting passed without anymore shocking secrets coming to light and the ghost's all agreed to help me keep an eye on the Headmaster and the rest of the school. It was nearing dawn when I finally apparated back to the common room to head up to bed for an hour or two.

* * *

Again, I am sorry this took so long. Hopefully the next will be up sooner.


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